A Perfect Life
by naley11
Summary: This is Nathan and Haley's life without Dante or any other traumas. There is no car accident and Keith is not dead. Dan is a good guy and will be going into partnership with Keith later in the story. This takes place right after the State Championship.
1. Chapter 1

A Perfect Life

Chapter One

**This is my story about One Tree Hill. It takes place right after the Championship Game is won. It is different though. Nathan never met Dante. Nathan and Haley are still having money problems because of it. The Ravens won easily and were never accused of point shaving. Nathan still has his scholarship to Duke. Also, I hated the fact that Keith was dead so I made sure that he wasn't dead. Jimmy Edwards killed himself but Dan didn't kill Keith. Dan is a good person and Deb is in rehab.**

The crowd was going crazy and the court was being swarmed by fans. Nathan and Lucas Scott were in the middle of it all. They weren't paying attention to anyone else. They were hugging and smiling.

"Thank you for making that shot," Nathan said. "If you had missed I would have hated myself for not tying the game when I had the chance."

"Good thing I'm so good at making three pointers," Lucas said. Lucas lovingly messed up the hair on Nathan's head.

"Nathan! Nathan!" someone called through the crowds. Nathan turned around and a huge smile broke out on his face. He walked towards his wife and swept her into his arms.

"I'm so proud of you," Haley said. "I love you so much. I can't wait to see what our son thinks when he sees his dad play such a great game of basketball."

"We're having a boy?" Nathan asked.

"I accidentally found out today. I wasn't feeling very good so the girls took me to the hospital. I'm fine; it was just a usual course of pregnancy. The doctor let it slip," Haley said.

"Our son is gonna have a great mom and also be a great basketball player with my coaching," Nathan said.

"And mine," Lucas said walking up on them. "Brooke just told me that I am gonna have a nephew. I figured the parents would be able to say if that were true."

"It's a boy!" Nathan said.

"That's great!" Lucas said embracing his brother and sister-in-law at the same time. They pulled apart and were suddenly surrounded by all their friends and family. Brooke, Peyton, Skills, Bevon, Rachel, Mouth, and even Fergie and Junk were all there. Right behind them were Dan, Keith, and Karen. Lucas walked over to his Mom and Keith and gave them both a hug. He turned to Dan and paused for a second. Then he decided to hug Dan too.

"Thanks for being here," he said to his Mom and Keith. "You too," he said to Dan. Dan smiled at the fact that he was being acknowledged by his first-born son. Dan then walked over to Nathan and Haley and gave them each a hug. Lucas watched them talking to each other and he turned back to his mom and uncle.

"So are you getting nervous?" Lucas asked.

"About what?" Karen asked.

"About your wedding!" Lucas said. "It is in two days."

"You know, for once Luke, I can honestly say that I'm not," Keith said. Keith was usually always nervous about this type of thing. "Besides, with you as my best man, and your mom as the bride, how could I get nervous?"

"How's my matron of honor?" Karen asked looking towards Haley. "I noticed that she wasn't here for the first half."

"She's fine. She wasn't feeling good though so she went to the doctor before she came. All the girls took her. She found out she's having a boy," Lucas said.

"Oh, that's great," Keith said. "How's my other groomsman taking it?"

"Oh, he's fine now. He was worried about her when he didn't see her. I think that's why he didn't play as well in the first half," Lucas said. The three walked over towards Nathan, Haley, and Dan. They were stopped by Brooke.

"Hi Karen, Keith," Brooke said. "I already said hi to you," she said to Lucas.

"Hi Brooke. While I have you here I should let you know that I want you and Haley at my house by ten on Saturday," Karen said.

"Sounds great," Brooke said. "I'll tell Haley." She turned around and walked over to Haley.

"Hey Keith, what time do we have to be wherever it is we're getting ready?" Lucas asked.

"We are getting ready at my apartment and we have to be there at like noon," Keith said.

"Don't you think that's cutting it a little close?" Karen asked.

"No," Keith said. "You're forgetting the fact that all we have to do is put on tuxedos and brush our teeth. Besides, the ceremony doesn't start until two-thirty. We'll be there Karen. Even better we'll be there on time."

"Alright. We're gonna go Lucas," Karen said.

"Before you do, I was thinking that maybe we could use Tric to celebrate the win," Lucas said. "Can we?"

"I suppose," Karen said. She took the keys out of her pocket and tossed them to Lucas. "Don't you have school tomorrow though?"

"No," Lucas said. "We have an institute day tomorrow. Well, at least the seniors do. We only have two more weeks left at school so they decided that we get every Friday off. It's the schools gift to us."

"Alright, but call me if you stay at someone's house," Karen said.

"I can stay at someone's house?" Lucas asked.

"You can stay at certain people's houses. Such as Nathan and Haley's, Brooke's, Peyton's, so on. Only people I know," Karen said.

"Karen, I don't think him staying at Peyton's house is a good idea," Keith said.

"Why not, they're friends," Karen said.

"Hah, as of tonight they're a little bit more," Keith said. "I saw that kiss in the middle of the court." Lucas laughed.

"Nothing gets by you does it?" Lucas asked.

"Not if it's about you or your mom," Keith said.

"Okay so not Peyton's house. Fine," Lucas said.

"No you can stay with Peyton," Karen said. "I think I can trust you enough for that. At least I hope I can."

"Thanks Ma," Lucas said. "I could come home if I had a car though."

"You do," Dan said popping out of no where. Dan held up keys and handed them to Lucas. "I talked with your mom and Keith and they agreed that you could have a car. It's the same one you had before. I gave one to Nathan that's the same thing in a different color. Do you like it?"

"Why are you giving it to me?" Lucas asked.

"Because you're my son. I have never gotten you anything. Think of this as seventeen years worth of Christmas and Birthday gifts," Dan said. With that he walked away. Lucas turned to his mom and she nodded her head, then she turned and walked away Keith. Lucas walked over to Nathan and Haley.

"Is this the greatest night ever or what?" Lucas asked. "I got a car and the keys to Tric. I'm gonna ask some people to come there after here. Ask anyone you guys want."

"Alright," Nathan said. He held up his car keys to show Lucas. Lucas held up his as well. Peyton walked up and dragged Lucas away.

"We'll meet at Tric in half an hour," Lucas said as he walked away.

"If we're meeting in half an hour than I should probably go change," Nathan said.

"Okay," Haley said. "I'll meet you outside the locker room in fifteen minutes. We'll go then."

"Sounds good," Nathan said. "And if anyone needs a ride to Tric we have room for two or three people in the backseat." Haley watched Nathan until he walked into the locker room. Haley spent the next fifteen minutes inviting people to Tric. She ended up not having to offer rides to anyone. Rachel was driving Brooke, Mouth, Skills, and Bevon. Lucas was driving Peyton, Fergie, and Junk. Everyone else that was invited had other rides. Even Tim had a car now.

Haley walked over to the locker room and met Nathan just coming out. He was carrying his duffle bag and talking with Lucas. Nathan wrapped his arm around Haley and they walked out.

"Hey Nathan," Lucas called. "I have to go find the people I'm taking. You'll probably get there before me so would you mind getting stuff ready. My mom gave me the key to the front and the key to the cabinets where all the pop is. She didn't trust me with the alcohol cabinet keys. Anyways, can you just give people a drink as they come in? I'll take over once I get there."

"Yeah sure man," Nathan said. Lucas tossed the keys to Nathan and then left to find Peyton and the rest of his friends. Nathan and Haley walked out and found the new car. It was blue. It was a Ravens color for sure. He spotted Lucas' red Corvette parked right next to his. The top was already down on their car. Nathan put his bag into the trunk and then climbed into the driver's seat. He pulled out of the parking lot, getting the feel for the car. He liked it. The couple drove the half hour trip back to Tree Hill. They were the first car to pull into Tric. Nathan got out and ran around the car to open the door for Haley. She grabbed his hand and they walked into Tric.

They opened the drinks just as Lucas asked. Nathan went around putting the chairs down. As people came in, Haley handed out the pop. No one complained that there wasn't any alcohol. Within ten minutes of them arriving, Lucas, Peyton, Fergie, and Junk arrived. There were only a few people there already. Lucas took over handing out drinks, and Peyton went over to the DJ area to put on some music.

"What would we do for music without Peyton?" Lucas asked.

"We wouldn't be listening to any music right now," Nathan said. Nathan grabbed two stools and brought them around to the other side of the bar. He sat in one and put the other one down for Lucas. "I'll stay here and help tend bar."

"Thanks Nate," Lucas said. They sat together behind the bar and served drinks to anyone who wanted one.

"Doesn't your mom usually have people pay for the drinks? Pop does cost money," Nathan said.

"She can take it out of my paycheck at the café. It was my idea for the party anyways," Lucas said.

"That's not fair Luke. I'll pay for half," Nathan said.

"No, this was my idea," Lucas said. "I'll pay for it."

"I insist on paying for half of it," Nathan said. "Come on Luke. I'm your brother. It's because of both of us that we're here. I don't care what you say. I'm paying for half of it."

"Fine," Luke said. "Any idea how many cases there were before we started handing them out?"

"Yeah, actually I think there were about twelve or thirteen cases," Nathan said.

"Okay, we still have like seven of them. That can't be that expensive," Lucas said.

"Okay, but the party's not over yet," Nathan said. "Did your mom say what time we had to be out of here?"

"Yeah, she wants everyone out by midnight. It's already eleven-thirty right now. There can't be that many people that still need another drink," Lucas said.

"Alright well, we only have a half hour left and then we have to clean up right?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, I totally forgot that we had to clean up afterwards. Yeah I guess we will," Lucas said. "Since I have a car I can actually go back to my own house if I want."

"What do you mean if you want?" Nathan asked.

"My mom told me that I could stay over at someone's house too. I think I'll stay at Peyton's," Lucas said.

"Your mom is letting you stay at Peyton's house?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "She said I could've stayed at your place too since you guys had a car. Speaking of that old piece of crap, what did you do with it?"

"Oh, I gave that to Keith. He said he was gonna try to fixit up a bit. After that, who knows what he'll do with it," Nathan said.

"Knowing Keith, he'll be able to fix it up, good as new," Lucas said.

"Yeah," Nathan said. "Maybe he'll be able to sell it for a decent price. It might help pay for the wedding a little bit."

"Yeah it could," Luke said. "Speaking of the wedding, Keith wants us at his apartment at noon to get ready on Saturday."

"Alright," Nathan said. "Should I meet you there or do you want me to pick you up?"

"You could just meet me there. We should have separate cars in case we have to run some last minute errands," Lucas said.

"Alright," Nathan said. They spent the last fifteen minutes of the party passing out drinks and just talking. They were getting ready to make an announcement for everyone to go home but it seemed that it wasn't necessary. Everyone had already started leaving. When they looked around the room again, the only people there were their closest friends.

Rachel, Brooke, and Peyton were sitting on one of the couches. Brooke and Peyton were both asleep with Rachel just sitting there finishing her pop. Haley was sitting in a chair, also asleep. It had been a tiring day for her. The brothers walked over to Mouth, Fergie, Junk, and Skills. Bevon was asleep on Skills' shoulder.

"Hey guys, can you help us clean this place up?" Luke asked.

They nodded their heads and got up. Skills maneuvered out from under Bevon's head. She lay down on the couch, still asleep. With all six sets of hands, they finished cleaning up in ten minutes. Nathan went behind the bar to inspect how much pop had been consumed. There were six cases left.

"Hey Luke," Nathan said. "We have to pay for six cases. Find out how much that'll cost from your mom and then call me. I'll find out if you pay for more of it."

"Alright," Luke said. "We should get going. I'll lock up. Take Haley home and get her to bed. She had a long day."

"I know," Nate said. He turned to Luke and gave him a hug. "Thanks Luke."

"For what?" Luke asked.

"For everything," Nate said. "For being my brother, for winning the game, and for throwing the party. My son's gonna be lucky to have an uncle like you."

"Thanks Nate," Luke said. He gave him another hug and then Nathan walked over to his wife. Not wanting to wake her he lifted her into his arms. She stirred a little but than fell back to sleep.

"It's a good thing she's not farther along," Nate whispered to Lucas on his way out.

"Hey Nate," Fergie called quietly. "Do you think you could take me and Junk home on your way? We're closer to you than we are to those guys."

"Yeah sure," Nathan said. "Come get this door will ya?"

Fergie and Junk walked out of Tric with Nathan and Haley. Rachel stood up causing Brooke to wake up from the loss of a head rest. Brooke stood up and then left with Rachel, Mouth, Bevon, and Skills.

Lucas made his way over to Peyton and squatted down.

"Hey pretty girl," Lucas said. Peyton stirred and looked at Lucas. "You ready to go home?"

Peyton nodded her head and stood up. They left Tric, locking the door behind them. When they got to Peyton's house, it was one o'clock. Peyton turned to Lucas and asked, "It's pretty late. Do you wanna just stay here tonight?"

Lucas nodded his head and then got out of the car. They walked inside and locked the door behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews. I had originally thought that I would go into everyone's lives just to understand what was going on right then but who am I kidding? If you're reading this story, then you obviously know what was going on with all of them. By the way, there is also no psycho Derek with Peyton and Brooke.**

Chapter Two

Lunch

Nathan got up and dressed before Haley did that morning. He decided to be nice and made breakfast in bed for the both of them. Since he wasn't much of a cook he decided on waffles and popped them in the toaster. In two minutes they were ready. He got out a tray and put the large plate of waffles on it with two other plates. He added the bottle of syrup, silverware, and two glasses of milk. He walked very slowly into the room carrying the tray. He put it down on their dresser and then gently coaxed Haley out of her slumber. When she was finally awake, Nathan brought the tray over to the bed and sat it on the nightstand. He made them each plates of waffles and poured on the syrup. He handed Haley her glass of milk and grabbed his, then climbed into the bed on his side.

"Good Morning," Nathan said after he had taken a few bites. He leaned over and gave Haley a gentle kiss. She returned it with pleasure. They continued eating their meal with a small conversation regarding their wedding and of course, Karen and Keith's. Karen and Keith's wedding was the following day while Nathan and Haley's was in three weeks. They would have had it sooner after Karen's but the new husband and wife would have been on their honeymoon and Haley wanted them there. She had made sure it was okay with Nathan before pushing back the date. He had told her that it was fine with him if it made her happy.

"So did Brooke tell you what time Karen wants you at her house?" Nathan asked.

"No, she must have gotten side-tracked," Haley said.

"You guys have to be at Karen's at ten sharp," Nathan said. "Me and Luke don't have to be at Keith's until noon. In my opinion that's way too early. I figure after we get ready we're probably gonna have to kill time watching a game or something."

"You would think that," Haley said. "The groom has to get to the church about an hour before the wedding starts. Since it takes so much longer for the bride to get ready, it's the groom's responsibility to make sure that everything is the way it should be. You'll have to do that too."

"Okay, but everything at our wedding is gonna be perfect. Especially since Luke's the best man. Any problems we have, I'm sure he'll clear them up," Nathan said. "He knows what we're doing doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he was with me when I did a lot of the stuff," Haley said. "You on the other hand came with me, and just sat and paid no attention to what was going on. What would we do without Lucas?"

"Well, put it this way, the wedding might be a total disaster if we don't have Luke there," Nathan said.

"I couldn't agree more," Haley said. She handed her plate to Nathan and then said, "Do you wanna go wash those while I get dressed?"

"If you're changing then I'm staying," Nathan said jokingly. He got up and put the plates on the tray. He carried it out of the room and put it on the kitchen counter.

"We need a bigger place than this," Nathan said to himself as he put the plates into the dishwasher. He put the rest of the stuff away just as Haley was coming out.

"Ah, this place is too small," Haley said as she hit her elbow off the wall.

"About that," Nathan said. I was thinking that, since we don't have to save money for a car, and we have the baby coming, we could save the money for a bigger place instead. The wedding money would be a big help too. We'll probably end up using most of the money for the honeymoon but, we could use the rest for a better place. Maybe a condo, that way we wouldn't have to pay rent."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Haley said. "Did you book the honeymoon yet?"

"No, why?" Nathan asked.

"Well, I was thinking that out of the country trips are gonna be the most expensive we can take," Haley said.

"Where you going with this Hales?" Nathan asked.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go somewhere in the U.S." Haley said.

"Hales, you've always wanted to go to Paris," Nathan said.

"I know but we can go there some other time, when flights are cheaper," Haley said.

"The flights aren't gonna be getting cheaper," Nathan said.

"Nathan, you know we need the money, and going to London would leave less of it," Haley said. "Book it somewhere else. Make it in the U.S. but somewhere nice."

"I'll see what I can find," Nathan said.

"Good," Haley said. She was just about to sit down on the couch when someone knocked on their door. Nathan walked over and opened it.

Lucas and Peyton were standing in the doorway. Nathan let them in and they sat down on the couch by Haley.

"Hey, what brings you two here?" Haley asked.

"We were just wondering if you guys would be interested in going to lunch with some of us seniors. I mean, prom's next Thursday and after that, the rest of the year's gonna fly by," Lucas said. "It's just gonna be me, Peyton, Brooke, Rachel, Bevon, Skills, Fergie, Junk, Mouth, and you two if you want."

"That sounds really nice," Nathan said.

"Who's paying?" Haley asked jokingly.

"Speaking of paying, did you ask your mom about that pop?" Nathan asked.

"No, I haven't been home yet," Lucas said.

"Luke, it's almost eleven o'clock," Haley said.

"Yeah, and I have a cell phone," Lucas said. "She can call me if she wants me to come home. I'll call her and let her know that we're going to lunch."

"Fine," Haley said.

"You are so protective of me, and yet, you're younger than me and haven't seen your parents in over two months," Lucas said playfully. "Are they coming in for the wedding?"

"Last I heard from them, they were in California. They said they'll come when the baby does," Haley said sounding disappointed. "I guess I'll just have to give myself away."

"No you won't," Nathan said.

"My dad's not gonna be here Nathan," Haley said.

"Well, your dad can't give you away but I know who can," Nathan said.

"And who's that?" Lucas asked.

"You," Nathan said to Lucas. "You've known Haley practically your entire life. I would even say you know her as well as her parents. You're the only other person that could give Haley away."

"That's ridiculous. Haley won't want me to give her away," Lucas said.

"Actually that sounds perfect," Haley said.

"You really want me to give you away?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I mean, after the wedding, you technically will be my big brother-in-law," Haley said.

"Leave out the big when you introduce me to people," Lucas said.

"Oh, no we won't," Haley said.

"Anyways, I'll walk you down the isle if that's what you want Hales," Lucas said.

"That's what I want," Haley said.

"Now that that's settled, are you guys gonna come to the lunch or not?" Peyton asked.

"When and where?" Nathan asked.

"It's at my mom's café at one-thirty," Lucas said. "We had to make it later because half of the people aren't awake yet."

"It's not like it was even that late of a night," Nathan said.

"It was for us," Haley said. "We had to cheer you guys on after we were at the hospital."

"Yeah, while we had to play the game. Do you know how many miles we must have run yesterday?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah well, it felt like we ran all those miles too," Peyton said. "We should continue spreading the word about lunch."

"Why don't you just call them?" Nathan asked.

"That's not a bad idea," Peyton said. "Luke, do you have all their numbers?"

"I do but why don't you call Rachel, Brooke, and Bevon, and I'll call the boys," Lucas said.

Peyton nodded in agreement and the two walked out the door on their cell phones.

"Bye to you too," Nathan shouted after them. Haley just stared unbelievingly out the door.

"They make a good couple," Haley said. Nathan nodded his head in agreement.

"I feel kinda bad though," Nathan said, "She's the only one that's not in Keith's wedding."

"No she's not," Haley said. "Neither is Rachel, Bevon, Skills, Fergie, Junk, or Mouth."

"I mean out of our closed group. You know as well as I do that our main friends are Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke. I guess you could probably get Mouth and Skills in their," Nathan said.

"And with Skills comes Bevon, Fergie, and Junk," Haley said.

"No matter what you say, they're all in there no matter how you do it. Rachel comes with Brooke too," Haley said.

"I guess you're right," Nathan said. "I'm gonna go take a shower before this lunch." He walked down the hallway to take a shower.

"Wait for me," Haley called getting up and running down the hallway after him.

After a half hour shower they were dressed and ready to go. It had been quite refreshing.

"Hey, I want to do something after lunch so could you get Lucas to take you home or something. If he won't than I'll drop you off by myself, but it would be easier if I didn't have to," Nathan said.

"Yeah that's fine," Haley said. "Can I ask where it is that you're going?"

"You can ask but you won't get an answer," Nathan said. "If I accomplish what I'm doing, then you'll find out when I get home. Hopefully, I will succeed."

"Get home as soon as you can," Haley said. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"It shouldn't be more than an hour or so. I'll be home by four at the latest," Nathan said. "That's a promise."

"Good," Haley said. "If you do stick to your word then maybe I'll make a real dinner."

"That sounds great, but not till later. We're going to eat lunch after all. I probably won't be hungry until at least six or seven," Nathan said.

"Sounds like a good time for me," Haley said. "What should we have?"

"Well what do we have?" Nathan asked.

"We have pork chops and a chicken roast. All the rest are frozen meals," Haley said.

"We have to do better shopping," Nathan said. "I think the chicken roast is too much for just the two of us. Let's go with the pork chops."

"That sounds yummy," Haley said.

"Let's go early," Nathan said. "Maybe we can help Karen with the food pr something and then I can ask her how much that pop cost. Me and Luke agreed to split the cost."

"Sounds good to me," Haley said. She grabbed her purse and Nathan grabbed his keys and wallet. They walked out to the car and got in.

"Top up or down?" Nathan asked.

"Down, so we can ride in style," Haley said.

"That's just about the gayest thing I've ever heard but we'll go with it," Nathan said.

They pulled out of the apartment parking lot and out onto the road. They pulled up to Karen's Café at twelve-thirty. They jumped out of the car and walked up to the door. They had parked the car where they could see it from the café. They didn't want anything to happen to their brand new car.

"Hey Ms. Roe," Nathan said.

"Hi Karen," Haley said.

"Hello you two," Karen said. "Haven't I told you to call me Karen Nathan?"

"Yes, you have," Nathan said.

"Then do it," Karen said. "Why are you two here so early. Isn't your lunch not for another hour?"

"It's at one-thirty. We came to see if you could use a little help until then. There are eleven of us after all. I could clean up the tables if you want Haley to help in the kitchen," Nathan said.

"Thanks Nathan but I would have to give you something and I'm trying to save some money up for the two weeks that this place would be closed," Karen said.

"We don't want any money," Nathan said. "We just wanna help."

"Well, in that case, table twelve needs a clean-up," Karen said tossing Nathan a rag. Nathan picked it up and walked over to the table.

"Haley would you mind cleaning up some of the dishes back there?" Karen asked. "With Lucas not here, it gets pretty piled up."

"Sure Karen," Haley said walking back into the kitchen. Nathan brought some plates back to Haley in the kitchen and cleared them.

"Hey Haley, come here," Nathan said motioning towards the very back. Haley came over to him with a questioning look on her face.

"What?" Haley asked.

"Well, I was thinking that since we can't really afford a gift for Karen and Keith that maybe we could work for it," Nathan said.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

"While they're on their honeymoon, we could run the café and the body shop. Since we're seniors, there's pretty much no reason for us to be in school. We could talk to Turner about it and I'm sure he'd have no problem with it," Nathan said. "Not only would it be a good wedding present but it would also give them a great bonus for money. I think we could do it. When I was working for Keith and my dad before, they showed me some tools and how to do some simple stuff. Besides Lucas could help a lot too if I didn't know something," Nathan said. "This would be really good for getting me a job too. If I do a good job on this, I might be able to get a good job for Keith permanently. I need a job for the summer anyways."

"Do you really think that we could do it?" Haley asked.

"Well, we could ask some of the other guys to help us too," Nathan said. "I'm sure Brooke and Peyton would help, maybe even Rachel and Bevon. As for the body shop, Lucas and Skills could help me. It could be a really nice gift from all of us."

"That actually sounds like a pretty good plan," Haley said.

"I was gonna try to get a job after lunch today but if we have this then we would be fine. You would have tip money and I'm sure that Karen and Keith would give us something out of it too," Nathan said.

"Oh, I'm really excited about this," Haley said. "I'm gonna go tell Karen." She went to walk away but Haley stopped her.

"Before we tell her we should see if everyone else is in," Nathan said. "We can ask them at lunch."

"You're really thinking this whole thing through huh?" Haley said.

"I actually think it could be really good for us and of course Karen and Keith," Nathan said.

"I'm proud of you for thinking of it," Haley said.

"Thanks Hales," Nathan said giving her a kiss.

"Hey Haley could you bring a coke to the lady at table eight?" Karen called into the kitchen.

"Sure Karen," Haley said. As she got the drink out to the customer, Nathan went back to clearing tables. By one o'clock all the tables that were dirty had been cleaned so Nathan started to do the dishes in the kitchen while Haley waited on a table. Karen took over at one-twenty. Haley went back to washing dishes so Nathan could go set up the table for their lunch. He had to put three tables together so they could all fit. He put it in one corner so they had a little privacy. Everyone arrived right around one-thirty. They all took their seats. Haley was the last one to sit down because she had wanted to finish the dishes. After they had ordered and Nathan knew that Karen would be making the food, he proposed his idea to the table.

They all caught on quickly. Everyone agreed to do it immediately. They were all pumped at the idea. Lucas especially liked the idea. He had decided that he would go back and forth between the two places.

"Since it was Nathan's idea it should by right be him that tells them," Peyton said. They all agreed on that and Nathan brought it up when Karen came back. Luckily she had cleared her tray because when she heard their gift, she dropped it. Nathan picked it up for her and pulled up a chair for her to sit in. she gratefully did.

"Nathan that's way too much. I appreciate the offer but, I can't allow you to give up your last two weeks of being seniors," Karen said.

"We wouldn't be giving it up," Nathan said. "We would be spending it together, just like we wanted to. Not only would be together but, we'd be helping you and Keith. And besides, we don't really have the money to get a nice gift. This is the best thing we could think of."

"Nathan this is better than any gift you could have given us," Karen said. "All of you want to do this?" There were nods all around the table. "Alright, I'll talk it over with Keith. I'll call you about it Nathan." At that moment, Keith walked in the door.

"Hello, everybody," Keith said. He gave Karen a kiss and hugged Nathan and Lucas, He gave Haley a brief hug as well.

"You all ready for tomorrow?" Keith asked. Nods rippled around the table. "So what did you get us?"

"Can I talk to you abut that Keith?" Karen asked. "They all went in on a gift and I want to tell you about it in the kitchen."

Keith looked a little confused but followed Karen into the kitchen. Two minutes later he came out of the kitchen and this time, hugged everyone at the table, even Bevon and Rachel, who he had only briefly met.

"Karen and I decided that it would be really nice for you guys to do that for us. We also decided that we'll use today as a brief training day. After lunch Karen want those of you helping here to stay and learn the ropes. Everyone helping me can come back to the shop with me. I'm gonna have my lunch at the counter, Let me know when you're ready to go," Keith said.

"Hey Keith," Lucas said. "Where do you want me to go? I'm helping at both."

"You should come with me," Keith said. "You know everything about the café and besides, Haley will be here. I could use you at the shop. You and Nathan will have the majority of the responsibility while I'm gone. No offense to the rest of you."

"None taken," Mouth said. "I would not do well with that much responsibility on my head. Especially not a place about cars."

"Me either," Skills said.

"No complaints here," Junk said.

"I don't want any responsibility either," Fergie said.

Keith nodded his head and walked into the kitchen to get his lunch. When they had all finished lunch, the girls walked into the kitchen to start training and the boys walked over to Keith. Keith had just finished his sandwich. He left his plate on the counter and shouted a good-bye to Karen.

He turned to the boys and said, "So, we ready to get to work?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews will help me with the story so review if you like this story! This chapter is strictly gonna be training for everyone and probably Nathan and Haley's dinner. Next chapter will be Keith and Karen's wedding followed by prom.**

Chapter Three

Training

Nathan and Lucas drove their cars and loaded the boys into them. Keith drove his truck with Skills, Lucas took Fergie and Junk, and Nathan took Mouth. The girls stayed at the café training and following Karen. For once, they were all paying attention. They didn't want to screw anything up for Karen. They divided jobs and it was decided that Haley and Peyton would wait on tables. If it got really desperate then so would Brooke.

When Brooke didn't have wait tables, which would be most of the time, she would be behind the counter. Her job was just to work the cash register. However, this was very important. She had to make sure to enter the right amounts and give out the right change so the register would balance every day. Haley already knew how to balance the cash register so Karen didn't bother showing them that. Haley already knew everything about the café so she waited on the customers while Karen showed everyone else.

Rachel volunteered to buss the tables which was a big step for her. She would have to carry around the crate for all the dishes and clean up all the messes from the tables. Bevon was left to wash the dishes. They all thought it best that she didn't deal with customers. She didn't have a problem with that either, although they weren't quite sure if she understood that she would have to clear the plates and everything like that. Anytime Lucas came to help he would do a little bit of everything except wait on people. He had never done it before and he didn't really want to. Within a few hours, Karen was sure that they would do a fine job with the café and allowed them to help her until she closed. That way, she could get things done faster and watch them to see if they made any mistakes that she could correct.

They never made any mistakes, much to Karen's delight. She shut down the café, showing everyone the steps that were involved. She wanted everyone to know how to do that in case Haley wasn't there one day and they had to lock up without her. They all went home feeling that they had accomplished a lot that day. Karen was excited that the café would be earning money while she was gone. She had decided that it was enough that she would make all the money from the cash register even if it were open for a day. She decided that the girls would split all the tips. It was a small repayment for what they were doing for her.

Meanwhile, the boys were all hard at work at Keith's body shop. Keith showed them how to use the cash register and all the paperwork. Within an hour, all six boys knew which papers were used for each occurrence. Lucas was the only one that knew how much went into each type of accident or problem. There was one packet of paperwork for car accidents, another for tune-ups, and at least five others for different types of problems with the vehicles. There was one that was for anything that was not in the other papers as well. As Keith was showing them how to fix minor problems with the cars and what tools to use, Nathan looked around and spotted his old car sitting in a corner of the shop. The hood was off of it and it looked as though Keith had recently been looking at it. There were about three other cars in the garage besides that one. Keith was explaining what was wrong with the first one and how it could be fixed. He also showed them how to tell what was wrong with it.

"Okay, so this one needs a new battery and maybe a new muffler too. When the car is really loud when you start it, it's usually a sign that it needs a new muffler or in some cases, just a muffler," Keith said. "Certain older cars didn't come with mufflers and the people don't know this."

Keith showed them how to tell what certain problems were. He told them that if anyone came in with a car accident to tell them, depending on the damage, that it might not be ready for a few weeks.

"I've showed Lucas how to tell if cars can be repaired or not so you can at least tell customers that," Keith said. "But if it can be fixed, it may not be able to until I get back. Lucas, you know how to fix some minor car accident damages right?"

"Yeah, and I'm sure if I looked it up I'd be able to," Lucas said.

"Well, don't do that unless you really think you can fix it. If you're not sure if you can and the customer wants to know when the car will be ready, just tell them that you'll have to look at it and you'll call them back. They're always fine with that. Just never say I don't know," Keith said. "Customers hate that. Well, I think that's about it. If you have any other questions you can call me. We'll only be a few states away so I'll still be able to use my cell phone. There are books behind the desk that you can look at if you're not sure how to do something. I've used them in the pass and I know that they do the job. Any other questions?"

No one did so they headed towards the door.

"Oh, one more thing before I forget," Keith said. They all turned back to him and waited. "I know that this is your wedding gift but its way too big. You can split all the tips between yourselves and you'll get one hundred bucks a day. That's a fraction of what I get for cars. You guys keeping the business open is worth ten times more than that."

They all stared in disbelief at the fact that they would be making that much. They had thought that they wouldn't be making anything and now they'd be making six hundred dollars a week. The shop was always closed on Sundays but the café wasn't. They would probably help there if it was necessary on Sundays.

Keith told them they were free to go but called back Nathan and Lucas. They stood waiting for Keith to talk.

"Since I'm leaving you two pretty much in charge, I think it's only fair that you make a little bit more than those guys. I'm making it both of your responsibilities to lock this place up and deal with all the transactions and paperwork. I figure it's about right for you both to be making what Luke's salary is right now plus the hundred that everyone else is getting," Keith said.

Nathan didn't know what Luke made but he knew it was a lot more than a hundred. Then they got the hundred a day too.

"Keith that's way too much," Lucas said. "We might as well not be giving you a wedding gift."

"Think of this as my thanks for keeping the shop open and for being my groomsmen. It means a lot to me," Keith said.

"Thank you very much Uncle Keith," Nathan said. "I was excited with the hundred but now I don't know what I am."

"You're welcome. I know that you and Haley are going through some money problems and I hope this helps a little. Plus the fact that you're having a wedding and a baby," Keith said. "This is my wedding gift to you too in a way."

"It's more than I could have asked for. I don't know if I'll tell Haley how much I'm gonna get. I was hoping to surprise her with a honeymoon to London. She wants to save the money for a condo though," Nathan said.

"Well, I won't tell her so do whatever you want," Keith said.

"Me either," Lucas said. "We should go. Are you comin' over for dinner tonight?"

"No, your mom doesn't want to see me again until the wedding. It's some tradition that she grew up knowing," Keith said.

"Haley wants to do that too," Nathan said. "I was actually hoping that I could crash at your place the night before the wedding too," Nathan said looking at Lucas. "Maybe even get ready there."

"No problem," Lucas said. "We should go take those guys home." They each hugged Keith and then said, "See ya tomorrow." With that they left the shop.

"That is way too much for him to be paying us when it's supposed to be his wedding gift," Lucas said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"How much do you make?" Nathan asked.

"I make three hundred dollars a day. Add on the extra hundred he's giving us and you get four hundred bucks a day. That's twenty-four hundred dollars a week and since we're gonna be doing this for two weeks, that's forty-eight hundred dollars," Lucas said.

Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. "No way is he paying us that much," Nathan said. "That's insane. I could easily pay for the flight to London with just the first week of money. That would cover hotel and spending money too."

"Yeah, that's why I'm saying it's a lot," Lucas said. "I owe a lot to Keith. So will you. He told me that when you get back from your honeymoon he wants to give you a full-time summer job. Since I only work part-time, you'd easily be making double what I make right now."

"Your right, I do owe a lot to Keith," Nathan said. "Was I supposed to find this out?"

"Yeah, he wanted me to tell you if he didn't get a chance to today. He told me what you'd be making too," Lucas said. "Do you wanna know?"

"Yeah, but not around these guys," Nathan said as they approached that cars. Lucas nodded his head and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Nathan and nodded his head at it. Nathan understood it to mean that it was written down. They said good-bye and left. Nathan ended up taking Mouth, Fergie, and Junk since they lived closer to him then Lucas. Lucas drove Skills.

Nathan got home in an hour. It was five o'clock. When Nathan walked into their apartment he could smell the potatoes and pork chops being cooked. He had worked up an appetite while training. He assumed that Haley had as well. Haley told him all about her day and that she would be bringing home tip money. Nathan also told Haley of his day. He decided to keep the salary as a surprise and only told her about the tips and the hundred dollars a day.

"Oh, my god Nathan that's great," Haley said. "That will be the perfect start to our savings for a condo. Maybe with the wedding money and this money we'll be able to finally buy a condo."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm gonna go clean up a bit before dinner," Nathan said. "It's pretty dirty in that shop."

"Okay, but dinner should be ready in about a half hour," Haley said.

"I'll be ready by then," Nathan said walking down the hallway. As he walked he slipped the piece of paper out of his pocket and stared at it. When he walked into the room he went straight to the bathroom and closed the door. Once he was sure that Haley couldn't sneak up on him, he unfolded the piece of paper. There were many figures on it. Lucas had broken it down for him. There were different headings with different amounts of money underneath it. Nathan understood that Lucas had broken it down into five categories. The first category was labeled: SUMMER. The next one was: MONTH. The third category was: WEEK. The fourth category was: DAY and the final category: HOUR. It was a great help that Lucas had done this for him. He gave him a perspective for what he would be able to do with it. He mostly paid attention to the one labeled: DAY. With this one, he could tell exactly where he would be at during any point of the week. The figure underneath it caused Nathan to stare dumbfounded. Never had he seen such a high figure for what he would be making in a single day. $720.00 was the amount that was underneath it. Nathan quickly did figures in his mind. In two days pf working he would have $1,440.00 and after three days $2,160.00. It was more than Nathan had ever hoped to make before college.

He decided not to tell Haley about this either. It would be a surprise for after they got back from their honeymoon. Nathan knew immediately that they would go to London for their honeymoon. With the money that he would be making afterwards, they would do fine, even with the added expense the Nathan hoped to have. Nathan thought to himself, we deserve at least a townhouse. He pondered that throughout his whole shower. He thrust it out of his mind when it was time for dinner. He didn't want Haley to suspect anything and didn't want to accidentally bring it up. They had a candle-lit dinner that kept Nathan's mind off the subject.

X X X

After Nathan cleared the dishes, the couple settled down on the couch and watched T.V. for about an hour. At nine o'clock, Haley retired for the night, wanting to have enough sleep for the long day that was tomorrow. Nathan took the opportunity to look thing up online. The first thing he did was book a cheap flight to London. It had been cheaper than Nathan expected. He paid using his credit card. He knew that by the time the bill was due, he would have the money. The next thing he did was go onto real estate websites. He found a few small houses and townhouses in Tree Hill that looked like they were nice yet affordable. He wrote down the addresses and put the paper containing them into his wallet. With that, he went to bet, deciding that he would visit as many as he good the next day.

The next morning, Nathan woke up at nine o'clock. He prepared to roll over and go back to sleep but Haley made sure that was not possible. She sat down on him and shook him until he was finally awake.

"Nathan get up," Haley said. "You have to take me to Karen's house."

"You don't have to be there until ten o'clock," Nathan said annoyed that she had woken him up an hour before she had to be there.

"I want to eat before we have to get ready," Haley said.

"There's food in the kitchen," Nathan said still with an annoyed tone.

"No there isn't," Haley said. "You made the last of the waffles yesterday and that's all the breakfast food we had."

Nathan sighed and then rolled Haley off of him onto her side of the bed. He got up and pulled a pair of jeans up over his boxers. He pulled on a t-shirt and then sat back down on the bed. Haley informed him that she had already put everything she needed into the car.

"Where are we eating?" Nathan asked.

"We should probably pick up Brooke first," Haley said.

"I don't think she'll be up yet," Nathan said getting into the car.

"I already talked to her this morning and she said we could pick her up anytime," Haley said.

"Are girls always so weird on the day of a wedding?" Nathan and asked as he headed over to Brooke's house.

"If you mean they get up on time then yes, they are," Haley said. They pulled up to Brooke's house and Brooke was already waiting for them. She tossed a bag into the trunk and then climbed into the backseat with her dress. She hung it with Haley's and then told Nathan that he could go. They decided that the easiest thing to get would be McDonalds. They ordered at the drive-thru and got an extra two biscuits in case Karen wanted something. Within five minutes they pulled into Karen's driveway.

They all piled out of the car. Haley and Brooke grabbed their dresses and Nathan grabbed their bags out of the trunk.

"What is in these things?" Nathan asked surprised by how much they weighed.

"Shoes, make-up, a more comfortable set of shoes for later, a change of clothes, hair stuff, and who knows what else," Brooke said.

"Why would you need all of that?" Nathan asked as they walked up to the front door ringing the bell. Lucas answered it dressed in sweat pants nada t-shirt. He, like Nathan, looked like he had been dragged out of bed.

"Why are you guys here so early?" Lucas asked. "Ten o'clock isn't for another twenty minutes or more."

"We brought food," Nathan said through a yawn.

"In that case, come on in," Lucas said.

"Sorry, Luke but we didn't get anything for you," Haley said.

"Yes we did Haley," Nathan said. "Did you really think that I was gonna eat two Big Breakfast's?"

"I didn't know you got two Big Breakfasts," Haley said.

Nathan pulled them both out of the bag and handed one to Lucas. He passed out the rest of the food. Karen ate half-heartedly as if she didn't really care if she ate or not. She more pre-occupied going over the day in her head.

"Mom, don't worry about it," Lucas said. "Today is gonna be perfect."

"You know what, you're right. Thanks Lucas," Karen said. She seemed to calm down after that and ate the rest of her breakfast happily. After breakfast the girls disappeared to start getting ready.

"I'll never quite understand how it takes girls so long to get ready for stuff," Lucas said.

"I know," Nathan said. "You should've felt the weight of those bags of theirs. They were heavier than my basketball bag."

"I have a feeling that this is gonna get crazy. You wanna get out of here while we still can?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Nathan said with no hesitation.

"Give me a minute to get my shoes and some other stuff," Lucas said disappearing.

Nathan went in search of Haley and discovered that she was taking a shower. He walked into the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain open a little until he was sure she'd be able to hear him.

"Haley," he called loudly. She turned suddenly and moved to cover herself up. When she realized it was Nathan she stopped and went back to showering.

"Yes?" Haley asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that Luke and I are taking off," Nathan said. "I'll see you at the wedding."

"Okay," Haley said. She gave him a wet kiss and then said, "Have fun!" Nathan laughed as he walked out of the bathroom. Lucas was walking pas with a small duffle bag as Nathan came out of the bathroom.

"I was just going to find you," Lucas said. "What were you doing in there?" Lucas asked as they walked outside to the car.

"I was saying good-bye to Haley," Nathan said.

"Uh, sick. Isn't she in the shower?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah," Nathan said. "How do you think she got pregnant in the first place?"

Lucas shivered at the thought.

"Are you driving?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, but didn't we say we were gonna take separate cars?" Nathan asked.

"We can always come back before we go to Keith's," Lucas said. Nathan nodded in agreement and popped the trunk for Lucas to put his bag in it. Nathan's bag had been put in there by Haley that morning.

"It is great to have a wife," Nathan said. "She does everything for me. She packed my bag for me."

"Yeah, well, she'll be your wife on a deeper level in a few weeks," Lucas said.

"We already are on a deep level," Nathan said. "So, we have two hours to kill. Do you mind if we go to a few places. I have to look at them."

"What for?" Lucas asked.

"Well, with the money that I'll be making at the body shop, I'm finally gonna be able to afford a house. Right now we may have enough for a down payment but not enough for the rest of the mortgage. I wanna do something special for Haley. I booked our honeymoon to London. She thinks that I'm surprising her with somewhere in the states but we're going out of the country," Nathan said.

"Good for you," Lucas said. "So, do you have any addresses?" Nathan pulled out his wallet and took out the folded piece of paper. He handed it to Lucas. As they were still sitting in the driveway, Lucas looked at the addresses.

"Let's go to the first one. Its a couple blocks away on Haley's old block. That street has a central location to almost all of Tree Hill. It's like a block away from the café and a few more blocks from Keith's shop," Lucas said.

"Sounds good to me," Nathan said. They pulled out of the driveway and drove for two minutes to the house. They didn't even bother going inside.

"No wonder it's so cheap," Nathan said. "It was very small and looked run down. The paint was chipped and there was a meadow of grass in the front.

"Okay, the next house is on the next block over. Let's go," Lucas said. They drove over and this time didn't even bother stopping. It was worse then the last house. The next three houses they drove past were all run down and not worthy of being looked at. Nathan grabbed the list from Lucas's hand and glanced at it.

"There was one that I remember was really nice. It was the only one they showed a picture of. It's a brick house and it seems kinda old school," Nathan said. He pointed out the address for Lucas who knew the streets around here better than Nathan.

"Do you know where this is?" Lucas asked.

"No, I was hoping you did," Nathan said.

"Nate this is the house that's closest to the River Court. It's a beautiful house. I never thought they would sell it and for that good of a price. They own the River Court," Lucas said excitedly. "The couple that lives there are really nice. The husband poured the concrete himself. We might get you an even better deal since they know me."

"That's great Luke. It's a good location too," Nathan said. "I wonder if the River Court comes with it."

"That would be awesome if it did," Lucas said.

"I never even knew that the River Court was actually somebody's property. I thought it was owned by the city," Nathan said.

"Not many people did know," Lucas said. They pulled up and looked admiringly at the house. "So we have an hour left until we have to be at Keith's. Is that enough time for you to look around or do you wanna wait until some other day?"

"I wanna look at it now," Nathan said getting out of the car. Lucas got out as well and they walked up to the front door. There was no doorbell so they knocked. It was answered by the man. They heard his wife calling her husband to see who it was at the door.

"Excuse me sir, but I was wondering if I could look at the house. My name is Nathan Scott and this is my brother Lucas Scott," Nathan said.

Without any other questions, the man ushered them into the house. His wife came hobbling out of the living room and greeted them enthusiastically.

"You have come farther than anyone else that came to see the house. They all ran away as soon as we told them that they would have to take car of the River Court too. Your not going to do that are you son?" the woman asked.

"No ma'am. I love basketball. IT would be an honor to say that I owned the River Court," Nathan said.

"Well, thank go for that. You know, just for that, if you like the house, I'll knock off two thousand bucks," her husband said.

"Wow, thank you sir," Nathan said. "Do you mind if we look around?"

"Be our guest. There is a bedroom on this floor that we use as an office. There are four more bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. We used to rent the one downstairs. The basement has the bedroom and then a small living area with a bar," the man said. "There is a bathroom on each floor and another attached to the master bedroom. If you have any questions you can ask me or my wife, Ethel. My name's Tom," he said.

"Nice to meet you sir," Nathan said. He shook his hand and Lucas followed suit. The brothers went downstairs first. There were many boxes down there but they could tell what it was like without them. It was a spacious basement with a maple wood bar. The bedroom was a nice size too. They moved onto the main floor and explored. There was a large kitchen and dining room. They just looked into the living room where the couple was sitting. That was also a nice size.

They walked up the stairs. They looked into each bedroom getting happier as they went. The four bedrooms upstairs were all filled with boxes but they could tell in each one that a little furniture would make it beautiful. The master bedroom was the best of all. All the furniture was still there since the couple was still staying here. It was a huge room with two walk in closets. Nathan suddenly turned to Lucas.

"What do you think?" Nathan asked.

"It's a great house," Lucas said. "I think Haley would like it."

"I think so too," Nathan said. "This house is perfect. I think I'm gonna get it."

"You sure it's not too much?" Lucas asked.

"Well, it might be hard to get used to the money but, with the job, it'll get easier. Maybe we'd rent out the room downstairs like they did," Nathan said. "I don't know if Haley would like that though."

"What if the renter was someone she knew and was comfortable with?" Lucas asked.

"I don't think she'd mind then but no one needs a place in our friends," Nathan said. "I would say Brooke, but she seems fine with Rachel. She's the only one that I can think of."

"How about me?" Lucas asked. "With my mom and Keith getting married, Keith is gonna be moving in obviously and since my mom's pregnant they're gonna need a room for the baby. I figured that if I got a place to stay then they wouldn't have to spend money fixing up the attic."

"Have you talked to your mom about it?" Nathan asked.

"No but, she can't complain especially if I move in with you," Lucas said. "I'm eighteen so I'm legally allowed to move out and it's not like I'm moving to another state. It's only a few blocks away and since I have a car I would go over there almost every day. Really, the only difference would be that I wouldn't sleep there."

"Yeah, I guess but will your mom see it the same way?" Nathan asked.

"She's always supported me with everything I do. It's not like when I moved in with Dan either. She hated that, but she shouldn't have a problem with this," Lucas said. "If you guys are okay with it, I would love to stay with you guys."

"Of course we're okay with it," Nathan said. "It'll be good for us to have a little extra cash too. I'm thinking two hundred a month is that's reasonable."

"That's more than reasonable. That sounds perfect," Lucas said.

"Alright, let's go talk about figures. How much time do we have?" Nathan asked.

"We have to be at Keith's in a half hour. Is that enough time do you think?" Lucas asked.

"We'll see how much we can accomplish in that time," Nathan said. They walked down the stairs and into the living room where the old couple was watching T.V. Nathan cleared his throat and they turned to him.

"I'd like to buy the house," Nathan said.

Ethel squealed excitedly.

"Oh, wonderful. I couldn't think of a better man for it to go to," Ethel said. "Are you two going in on it together?"

"No ma'am. I'm buying this house for my wife and I. Lucas is gonna rent the room downstairs. I'm buying it for my wife as a wedding gift and a baby shower gift. She's expecting a baby," Nathan said.

"Are you sure your wife will be okay with you allowing your brother to move in?" Tom asked. "There are many help who hate the thought of having their spouse's relatives living with them."

"She'll be fine with it. They were best friends long before we were brothers," Nathan said. They nodded their heads having heard about the two Scott boys.

"I don't wanna rush you or anything but, we have to get to my uncle's house to get ready for his wedding. Do you think we could do all the paperwork in twenty minutes or should I come back some other day?" Nathan asked.

"Well, we wouldn't be able to do it today anyway," Tom said. "The real estate agent has to be present with all the paperwork. If you tell us what day you're free, we can set it up so she'll be here."

"How does Monday work for you?" Nathan asked. "It would have to be early though because I am expected at my job at nine."

"Don't you have to go to school?" Ethel asked.

"My friends and I are fulfilling a wedding present. Our principle has Okayed it since we're not doing anything at school. We're seniors," Nathan said.

"Well that's nice," Ethel said.

"Would you be willing to come here at eight o'clock on Monday morning? We could have the agent here then, and we could do all the paperwork," Tom said.

"I could definitely do that," Nathan said. "Should I bring anything?"

"Bring your drivers' license and the down payment. We accept check or cash," Ethel said.

"How much is the down payment?" Nathan asked.

"It's one thousand dollars. We refigured it while you were looking around. We took the two thousand off the price for you," Tom said. "You have to promise to take care of that court though. It has gone through a lot."

"I promise. I hope that my son will be able to play on it in a few years time," Nathan said.

"We'll see you on Monday," Ethel said.

"Thank you very much," Nathan said. "Here's my number in case you think of anything else I can bring for Monday. That's my cell phone number. I won't be able to answer the phone if my wife is around but I'll call you back when I get away from her."

"You are very committed to this house Nathan," Tom said. "That's good to see. I think we can knock off another thousand. Make that another two thousand since you're so young and are having a baby."

"Wow, thank you," Nathan said. "Does that change the down payment?"

"Yes, I think it would be about eight hundred dollars now," Ethel said. "It won't be more than that."

"Thank you for everything," Nathan said. "Call me for anything. I really want this house. I'll do anything for it. It will make my wife so happy."

With that, Nathan and Lucas left hurriedly so they would get to Keith's on time. They pulled into the parking lot at noon and hurried up the stairs to the apartment.

Keith let them in and they sat down on the couch.

"It's time to get ready," Keith said. An hour later they arrived at the church. Before they walked in, Keith took a few deep breaths then turned to his groomsmen.

"Showtime."

**The next chapter will be the ceremony and the reception. I hope you like the idea about the house on the River Court. I figured that it suited that it would be Nathan and Haley's with Lucas as a room mate.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the reviews. This chapter is all about the wedding. The next chapter will be about the first week of working and Nathan talking about the house. After that, who knows?**

Chapter Four

Wedding

Keith walked down the aisle followed by Lucas and Nathan. The church was empty as they knew it would be. They walked all the way up to the front of the church and Keith sat down in the front pew.

"You know, Keith, we don't have to stay here. We can go check on everything else and see if it's the way it should be," Lucas said.

"I just wanna sit here for a while. You two could go check though. I'll catch up with you in a minute," Keith said. Nathan glanced at Lucas who nodded his head. Lucas walked into the back of the church to go see if everything was going according to plan. Nathan sat down next to his uncle.

"Keith, I may not be as close to you as Lucas is, but I think I know what you're going through right now. Even though I wasn't at your wedding with that Jules, I know what happened. I know that by leaving you, she hurt you more than telling you the truth. I understand that you're afraid it'll happen again." Nathan took a brief pause. Keith wasn't looking at him but he knew that he was listening. "I've never told anyone what was going through my head when Haley left and then came back. The night that she left, I confronted her and gave her an ultimatum. I told her that it was either me or the music. I left to take a walk and when I came back, she was gone. She had gone to chase her music.

"I knew that I had given her an ultimatum but, I hadn't meant it. I had come back after the walk to tell her that I wanted her to go on tour. I was gonna tell her that I would go with her. When I found out she had left when she thought she had to pick, I fell apart. I didn't know whether I should chase after her or just sit in my misery. I decided to sit and be miserable. That was a mistake. I only visited her once and I left before I gave her a chance to answer me. I should've stayed but I was too long gone.

"When she came back, I didn't know if I should sweep her off her feet or stay as far away from her as I could. I was afraid of getting hurt again. I spent the first weeks after she came home staying away from her. That was a mistake. I was prepared to let her go after I had spent all that time wanting her back. I looked for advice. I found it in Karen. She told me that I should try to mend things with her. She told me that at some point, you have to let go of the past. I let go of the horrible time I spent without Haley. Instead, I lived with my new life. I knew what had happened to me when I got closer to someone and I was afraid to do it again. I think that's where you come in.

"Jules hurt you and I know that, but it was Karen who tried to protect you. She was the one that tried to save you from your horrible past. You asked her to marry you and she said yes. Karen is a great person and I know that she loves you. Every time you walk into the room, I see her light up. She would never do what Jules did to you. Somewhere in your heart, you have to know that Karen wouldn't do that to you. Haley hurt me by leaving just like Karen hurt you by withholding the truth about Jules. You got to know Karen again and I got to know Haley again. Karen loves you and will never hurt you. You know that because you got to know her after she betrayed you. We both learned to trust the loves of our lives again. I don't regret anything with Haley. I wouldn't be this close to her if it hadn't been for her leaving. I think you would have to agree. She was trying to protect you and she always will protect you. Whether you believe it or not, Karen always loved you and you always loved Karen. Don't end that because of something that happened in the past. There's a reason those things are in the past." With that Nathan stood up and left Keith to think about what he had said. He found Lucas in the back of the church. It was much cooler back there.

"How'd it go?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know," Nathan said. "I said what I had to say. He seemed to be listening. We'll just have to see if he calms down."

At that moment, Keith came into the back. He walked over to Nathan and gave him a huge hug.

"Thank you, Nathan," Keith said. "You were right in what you said. Thank you for making me realize that Karen would never do that to me."

"You already knew, I just helped you remember," Nathan said.

"Well, thanks," Keith said. "Did Lucas give you the numbers for the job already?"

"Yeah, last night," Nathan said. "Thank you so much for the opportunity."

"Well, I'm giving you a raise. I had you on minimum wage but I think you deserve a little bit better than that. It was $720 an hour right?" Keith asked.

"Keith really, that's more than enough," Nathan said.

"I'm making it $800 an hour. If Lucas ever goes full time that's what he would make too. You're gonna need some training up though. Lucas grew up around me so he knew more about cars. I can teach you but, you are the one that has to remember it all," Keith said.

"I'll study. Besides, I can always ask Lucas for help and ask him how he remembered all of it," Nathan said. "Thank you so much Uncle Keith." This time it was Nathan's turn to give Keith a hug. "Did you hear that Luke? I'm gonna be making what my down payment is in an hour over the summer."

"That's pretty sweet," Lucas said smiling. "What did you say about me making the same if I went full time?"

"You heard right," Keith said. "Do I have you too?"

"If Nathan is than so am I," Lucas said. "After all, I do have to pay my rent."

"What are you guys talking about with rent and down payments?" Keith asked.

"Well, Uncle Keith, I'm buying a house as Haley's wedding present so you can't tell her," Nathan said. "I only told her that I was making a hundred a day at your shop. I'm using the rest of the money for buying a house and the honeymoon to London. I have to scrounge up eight hundred bucks by Monday morning though. I know we have like five hundred in the bank but I can't take all of that."

"Well, if it helps, I can pay you for the first week of work ahead of time," Keith said. "I'd give you the second week of payment when I get back but with the first week you should have enough for the down payment and then some. I have the money at the shop so if you think it would help, just stop by tonight or tomorrow and pick up the envelop that has your name on it. At the end of the week everyone can pick theirs up or sooner if need be. If it helps you can get it right now so it's off your mind."

"Wow Keith you would do that for me?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah sure," Keith said. "Eight hundred seems like a pretty small down payment though. You are getting a decent house right?"

"Yeah, it's a great house actually," Lucas said stepping in. "It's the house that is right by the River Court. Nate's gonna own the River Court plus the house."

"You're buying that house?" Keith asked. "That's such a great house. How much are you paying for it? Isn't that thing really expensive?"

"Well, it was $199,000 but they brought it down to $195,000 and I didn't even bargain with them," Nathan said.

"Tom and Ethel are real nice people. I bet as soon as you told them you were in high school and have a baby they dropped right?" Keith asked.

"Actually yeah, but the first reason they dropped was because I said I loved basketball and would take care of the River Court," Nathan said.

"Wow, they are really nice," Keith said. "Are you sure you're gonna have enough money for each payment though?"

"Well, actually, I'm gonna rent the room downstairs Keith. I was gonna talk to you and mom tomorrow before you left. I won't be that far away and it'll be just like old times but I just won't sleep there," Lucas said.

"Alright," Keith said. "I don't see any problems with it and your mom shouldn't either. I'll talk to her without you and then we'll see what she says. I think I'll be able to get her to see the same way as me."

"I bet you will Uncle Keith," Nathan said. "We officially have forty-five minutes until the wedding starts," he said glancing at his phone. Don't you have to pick up Peyton?" he asked Lucas.

"Oh my god I totally forgot about that. I'm supposed to pick her up in ten minutes and I don't have my car," Lucas said.

"Come on, we'll go pick up your car and then you can get Peyton," Nathan said. They ran out of the church without a second glance and jumped into the car. In five minutes, they were at Lucas's house. They couldn't get the car however because the limo was blocking the driveway. Nathan gasped when he saw Haley walking out of the house. He got out of the car and walked over to her.

"You look beautiful Hales," Nathan said.

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself," Haley said. She kissed him, this time not having on her tiptoes because of the heels she was wearing.

"It feels so weird," Nathan said. "I've never been in a wedding before and I haven't had to wear a tux."

"You've been in a wedding you were just the groom and a lot more simply dressed," Haley said. "Don't tell me you forgot about that wedding.

"I could never forget about that wedding," Nathan said.

"What are you guys doing here anyways?" Haley asked.

"We have to pick up Lucas' car," Nathan said. "He forgot that he had to pick up Peyton."

"Fine boyfriend he is," Brooke said walking out of the house. "I can get the limo driver to move you know. Karen won't be out for another few minutes." Brooke walked over to the limo and spoke with the driver for a few minutes. When she pulled her head out of the window the driver pulled the limo up so the driveway was clear. Lucas ran over to his car and hopped in.

"I'll see you back at the church," he shouted as he drove away.

"I can't believe he's my older brother," Nathan said. Haley just glared after him.

"Well, I should probably get back to the church," Nathan said. "Did you know that Lucas is gonna give his mom away?"

"No, I thought she was gonna give herself away," Haley said.

"That's so sweet," Brooke said. "Is your dad giving you away?"

"No, they can't make it," Haley said.

"Lucas is giving her away too," Nathan said.

"Oh, that's even sweeter than him giving away his mom," Brooke said. "I'm gonna ruin my make-up."

"Pull yourself together Brooke, it's a wedding," Nathan said. "Anyways, I should head back to Keith. He was a little queasy earlier. I had to calm him down. He's worried it's gonna be a Jules all over again."

"He should know by now that Karen would never do that to him," Haley said.

"Yeah, well, it can still worry him," Nathan said. "I knew just the story to tell him though." With that Nathan kissed Haley on the lips, Brooke on the cheek, and then hopped into his car and drove away.

"Who was that?" Karen asked coming out the front door in her dress.

"Oh, my god Karen you look beautiful," Haley said. "Brooke made that?"

"Yep," Brooke said.

"Brooke you have to make me one like that," Haley said.

"Don't you already have your dress?" Brooke asked.

"No," Haley said.

"Fine, I'll make you one tutor mom," Brooke said.

"I want it simple like that Brooke," Haley said. "Nothing crazy."

"You want it plain?" Brooke asked.

"No, I want it simple and elegant," Haley said.

"Why don't you just wear this one?" Karen asked.

"You would really do that for me?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, it could be your something borrowed," Karen said. "You'd look beautiful in it."

"Thank you Karen," Haley said.

"But who was that?" Karen asked.

"It was Lucas and Nathan. Nathan dropped Lucas off to pick up his car and then go pick up Peyton," Brooke said. "I always thought he was the responsible one but Nathan is giving him a run for his money."

"Nathan is a lot more responsible than he ever was," Karen said. "He has changed a lot."

"That's for sure," Haley said.

"So, are we ready to go?" Haley asked.

."I think so," Karen said. "I hope Keith isn't where he can see me."

"When we get there I can call Nathan and tell him to get Keith into the back while you go to the Brides' Room," Haley said.

"Thanks Haley," Karen said. "Make sure to not have the phone on during the ceremony though."

"Of course I won't Karen," Haley said. They piled into the limo and drove off towards the church.

Nathan pulled into the parking lot at the same time as Lucas and Peyton. Lucas ran around to open her door and took her arm.

"Well if it isn't my ex-girlfriend and my brother," Nathan said.

"You sound like Dan," Lucas said.

"That's weird, this wedding is like you two in the future," Nathan said.

"Except you are a much happier man with your wife," Peyton said.

"Thanks Sawyer," Nathan said. "I agree with you." At that minute his phone rang. "It's Haley."

He answered the phone and said, "Hello?"

"Hi, Nathan, Karen wanted me to call so you can get Keith out of view from the front. Karen doesn't want Keith to see her when she goes into the Bride's Room," Haley said.

"Yeah, alright, give me a minute, we only just got to the church," Nathan said running inside the Church. Nathan spotted him in the very back of the Church. "Alright, you'll be fine. I'll get him into the Groom's area."

"Thanks Nathan," Haley said. "Love you."

"Love you too," Nathan said. Then they hung up. Nathan walked into the church and walked down the aisle to Keith. Half of the church was filled with people. Most people were trying to decide which side to sit on because they knew both the bride and the groom. Nathan walked over to Keith and steered him out of the church and into the cool back area.

"What are you doing Nathan?" Keith asked.

"Karen's here and she wants to be able to get to the Bride's Room without you seeing her," Nathan said.

"She's here?" Keith asked brightening up.

"Of course she's here," Nathan said. "Lucas is gonna stay in the front until it's time for him to take Karen to you."

"Luke's giving Karen away?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, didn't you know that?" Nathan asked.

"No," Keith said. "That's perfect. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

"I'm glad you approve," Nathan said.

"I'm glad Lucas approves," Keith said.

"Lucas always approved of you and his mom," Nathan said.

"Thanks Nathan," Keith said. "You really made a drastic change in the past few years. I know we haven't had many chances to talk one on one, but I wanted to let you know that I'm proud of who you've become. I know it was hard to change your ways with Dan as your father and I also think it's horrible that you had to get emancipated to do it."

"Thanks Keith," Nathan said. "I know how my dad has always been an ass but I really think he is changing. In just the past few months, he's done a lot for us. He loaned me and Haley some money a few months ago that let us keep the apartment. I think I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Surprisingly enough, I'm more worried about my mom. She's still taking those pills and she left rehab yesterday. I'm worried about her. She's living all alone in that apartment that Dad got for her. I don't think being alone is the best thing to do for her but I can't house her. I can't deal with it."

"I get that Nathan," Keith said. "I'm sorry it reached that point. You've stuck your neck out for her enough. I think it's a smart move for you to stay out of it. Maybe after the honeymoon I'll give her a visit. Maybe all she needs is a good talk."

"I wish," Nathan said. Just then, they were interrupted by Peyton.

"Sorry to interrupt but, Karen wants you on the alter Keith and Nathan in the back. She wants you to walk down the aisle with Peyton and Haley because Lucas is walking her down the aisle," Peyton said.

"Oh sure," Nathan said. "I'll see you up there," he added to Keith. He walked out of the room and followed Peyton to the front of the church. Haley was arranging Karen's dress and Brooke was conversing lightly with Lucas. Nathan's breathe shuddered when he saw Karen. She looked magnificent in her dress. There were blue gemstones that you could hardly tell were blue. It made the dress shimmer.

"Wow! Karen you look great," Nathan said walking up to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Nathan," Karen said hugging him. "Did Peyton tell you what I wanted you to do for the procession in?"

"She said that you wanted me to walk Brooke and Peyton down the aisle so Lucas could walk you," Nathan said.

"That's exactly it," Karen said. "Thanks Peyton."

"No problem Karen," Peyton said. "I'm gonna go sit down as long as there' nothing else you need Karen."

"Go ahead and sit down Peyton," Karen said. "Thank you." Peyton nodded her head and then walked into the church to find a seat. Nathan spotted Keith standing on the alter and smiling. Then the doors closed. The organist suddenly started playing the procession song. Nathan looked to Karen for instructions. She nodded her head for him to prepare to walk. Nathan walked over to the carpet that lined the aisle all the way up to the alter. Just as Haley and Brooke had grabbed each of his arms and Karen Lucas', the doors swung open bringing them into the view of all the church.

Remembering what Karen had told him the day before, he waited for the main part of the music and then began the slow walk down the aisle. He smiled as he glanced left and right at Brooke and Haley's faces. As they walked, they spotted familiar faces in the audience. When they got to the front of the church, the girls let go of his arms and turned to him. Nathan planted a kiss on Brooke's cheek and another on Haley's lips. The girls walked to their spot on Karen's side and he walked over to stand a few feet behind Keith, leaving the step above him free for Lucas.

As the melody changed, the church rose to their feet and Lucas and Karen began their slow walk to the front. Nathan watched as Karen's face smiled brighter with every step. Her eyes were locked with Keith's. Lucas watched his mother's expression brighten. He smiled all the way to the front of the church. As they reached the front Keith walked to meet them. Lucas turned to his mother and pecked her on the cheek. Then he turned to Keith and hugged him. Keith clapped him on the back and then took Karen's hand. They let Lucas get to his spot next to Nathan and then walked up onto the alter to where the priest was standing. Once everyone was in their position, the priest signaled for the guests to sit.

The rest of the ceremony was beautiful. In an hour, Keith and Karen were walking back down the aisle as husband and wife. Lucas and Haley followed, with Nathan and Brooke a few steps behind. When they got to the front of the church they stood and waited by the door. Nathan, Lucas, Haley, and Brooke stood to one side as Keith and Karen greeted everyone flowing out of the church.

When everyone had congratulated them on the marriage, the bridal party left the church. Most of the people had moved on to their cars and go home for the brief wait between the church and reception. There were only a few people that were waiting for the couple to leave the church. Nathan looked around to see who was left. Peyton stood by Skills, Bevon, Rachel, Fergie, Junk, and Mouth. Dan was standing a few feet away from them with his parents. Keith and Karen made their way over to them while Nathan, Haley, Lucas, and Brooke made their way over to the other group. Lucas gave Peyton a kiss and then shook hands with Skills, Fergie, Junk, and Mouth.

After a few minutes of brief conversation, Keith and Karen came over to them. After a few hugs and kisses Keith said, "We're gonna head over to the house to recuperate for a little while. We want you guys over there by five so we can go in the limo to the reception."

"We'll be there," Nathan said. Keith and Karen walked over to the limo and got in. The limo drove away with the newly married couple inside.

"That was a really nice ceremony," Haley commented.

"Yeah, it was," Lucas said. "We're gonna head off," he said indicating himself and Peyton. "We'll be at Peyton's if anybody needs us." They started to walk away but Nathan's voice stopped them briefly.

"I was just thinking that, if we want to have our cars at the reception for afterwards, we should probably drop them off before-hand at the reception," Nathan said.

"That's a fair point," Lucas said. "Whose gonna take us to my house then?"

"I could do it," Rachel said. "I have the big SUV so I'd be able to fit everyone comfortably and it would be easy to climb into for the dresses."

"Sold," Nathan said. "Can you meet us at the reception hall at a quarter to five?"

"No problem," Rachel said. "I'll already have Brooke with me."

"Hey, Lucas, I could always drive you over to the house and then take your car to the reception," Peyton said.

"That's true. That might be easier too," Lucas said. "Then there would be two less people in the car. We'll just do that I think. See you at the house."

"See ya," Nathan said. "I guess it's just me and Hales then Rachel."

"Fine with me," Rachel said.

"I think we're gonna head back to the apartment for now too," Nathan said. "Are you guys all going with Rachel or does someone wanna come with us?" he asked the boys standing there.

"I have my dad's car so we'll be fine," Junk said. "Thanks for the offer though." Nathan nodded his head and then put his arm around Haley as they walked to their car. Nathan opened Haley's door and helped her get her and her dress safely into the car. Then Nathan walked around to his own side and got in. They pulled out of the parking lot, waving to their friends as they went. In a few minutes they were pulling into the apartment parking lot. They climbed up to the apartment, Haley holding onto Nathan's arm so she wanted trip in the heels and long dress. When they were in the apartment they both collapsed onto the couch, Haley more gently than Nathan so she wouldn't mess up her hair.

"How much time do we have until we leave?" Nathan asked Haley.

"We should probably leave forty-five minutes at the most. It'll take us like fifteen minutes to get to the reception hall. I'm gonna go redo my make-up and see how my hair's holding up," she said brushing her lips on his. She stood up and walked down the short hallway to their bedroom. She shut the door leaving Nathan alone in the living room.

He pulled open the laptop and went online. He went to the website where their house was and was happy to see that the description underneath said that it was sold. The couple had a lot of faith in him. He spent the next few minutes just staring at the picture, going through the tour again in his mind. He did a random search and found a website that outlined house payments per month. Nathan entered the price that the house had been brought down to and answered a few questions. The outline came up that gave a description of how much payments per month could cost depending on payment plans. Nathan saw one that seemed manageable and clicked on it. It was a payment plan that had the house paid off in twenty years. From what Nathan knew about houses, he thought that was pretty good. He noted the name of the plan and then moved on to play a game of solitaire. Haley came out a few minutes later looking refreshed and happy.

"You ready to go?" Haley asked.

"As long as you are," Nathan said. Haley nodded her head and Nathan closed the laptop. He grabbed a coat for Haley in case it got colder. After all, it was September. They left the apartment and headed to the car. They pulled out and headed towards the location of the reception. It was outside in a tent, another reason to bring a coat. They pulled in a few minutes later and found Rachel waiting for them.

"Well, well, well," Rachel said. "Look at this; I'm on time and you're late."

"That's shocking," Haley said. "When's the last time that happened?"

"It's been known to happen from time to time," Rachel said. "So are you ready to go?"

"Let's go," Nathan said climbing into the car and letting Haley in on the other side. Rachel hopped into the drivers' seat and they drove away. They reached the house at the same time as Lucas and Peyton were pulling down the block. They pulled up on the street and Lucas got out. Peyton went around and got into the driver's seat. Lucas kissed Peyton before watching her drive away. He watched her until she was out of sight.

"I swear, if she damages that car, I might have to kill her," Lucas said.

"Why are you so worried?" Haley asked.

"She's been known to run red lights and sometimes do damage to cars unintentionally. That's a new car and I don't want it to meet a nasty fate," Lucas said.

"I think she'll be fine with it. She's more careful when she drives other people's cars," Brooke said. "She's never damaged my car."

"I guess that's some comfort," Lucas said still looking in the direction that Peyton had drove in. The bridal party walked into the house as Rachel pulled away. Karen and Keith were sitting on the couch staring at the television. They were holding hands and Karen was lying in the crook of his arm.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. and Mrs. Scott," Haley said.

"I could say the same," Karen said. Nathan chuckled quietly to himself.

"Not to make you feel left out Brooke, but this room is full of Scotts except for you," Nathan said.

"That would've made me feel left out a year ago but I'm so over that," Brooke said eyeing Lucas. "Besides, no offense, but this family has had so many problems. To name a few, Dan slept with Karen, who had Lucas. Dan ran away and slept with Deb, had Nathan, and got married. Later, they divorced. Meanwhile, something's been going on with Karen, and Dan's brother. Next, you marry tutor girl, then she leaves you to go on a tour. She comes back, gets pregnant and now you guys are gonna renew your vows, after of course Dan's brother Keith marries Dan's ex-girlfriend Karen. Does that sound right to everyone?" Brooke asked the room.

"I never really thought about it that way, but you're right Brooke, this family has gone through a lot," Keith said. "But, look at us now. Karen and I are married, Dan's coming around, Nathan and Haley are getting remarried to each other, and Lucas, well, to be perfectly honest, Lucas is the most normal."

"No he's not," Brooke said. "Not to bring up bad memories, but he did date me, cheat on me with Peyton, then date me again, and then cheat on me again with Peyton. Plus somewhere in the middle of that, there was a pregnancy scare with us."

"Hey, to be fair, I did not cheat on you the second time," Lucas said. "Peyton just revealed her feelings about me and you found out about a bunch of stuff in my past."

"Who cares Luke but what did you say about a pregnancy scare?" Haley asked.

"The first time we were dating," Brooke said, "after I found out about him and Peyton, I was late one month so I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Luckily, the doctor told us that it was not true."

"He never told me that," Haley said. "You always told me everything."

"I guess, I was so worried about it that when I found out it wasn't true, I blocked it out," Lucas said.

"Hales, don't worry about what happened in the past," Nathan said. "We should be celebrating today. Karen and Keith got married. What does it matter what happened in the past?"

"Thank you Nathan," Karen said.

"You're right," Haley said. "It doesn't matter anyways, because it wasn't true. You would've told me if she were pregnant though right?"

"No matter how hard I could have tried, you would've found out," Lucas said. "But yes, I would've told you if it were true. Can we drop this now?"

"Yeah of course," Haley said. "So when's the limo picking us up?"

"Five-thirty sharp. The reception starts at six so we wanted to get there a little early to make sure everything was alright," Keith said.

"You guys have got to relax," Lucas said. "Everything's gonna be perfect. And if there were any problems, then it would be our responsibility to fix them. That's why we're here. You guys have to just relax and enjoy yourselves."

"We'll take care of the rest," Nathan said.

"Spoken like true Scotts," Keith said.

"We learned it from you," Lucas said.

"The most of it is all you," Keith said.

"Thanks Uncle Keith," Nathan said.

"Yeah thanks," Lucas said. "Speaking of Uncle, what am I supposed to call you these days?"

"Just Keith," Keith said. "Your dad's made a turn around. Call him dad."

"It'll never feel right to call him dad," Lucas said. "No matter how much he changes."

"You should just try it out," Keith said.

There was a beep outside and Lucas glanced out the window.

"That's the limo," Lucas said. He pulled open the door and everyone left the house. They got into the limo and drove away.

"So when do you guys leave for New York?" Haley asked.

"Tomorrow," Karen said. "Our flight's at one-thirty. You're still taking us to the airport right Lucas?"

"Yeah," Lucas said. "What time will we have to leave?"

"Probably eleven," Keith said. "We have to be there two hours ahead of time to check in, go through security, and maybe eat something."

"That sucks," Lucas said. "You're going for two weeks right?"

"Yep," Karen said. "We'll be back the weekend before Nathan and Haley's wedding."

"Speaking of your wedding," Lucas said. "Who's the other groomsman? I know I'm the best man and Brooke is the maid of honor, but who's with Peyton?"

Nathan glanced at Lucas. "We never told you?" Nathan asked.

"No," Lucas said. "So who is it?"

"It's Jake," Nathan said.

"He's comin' in for the wedding?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I talked to him a few months ago and he said that he'd love to come," Nathan said. "He's bringin' Jenny too. Speaking of that, we told him we'd find someone to stay with Jenny while the ceremony is going on. Any idea who would want to stay with her?"

"Well, I would say Peyton but she's out because she's a bridesmaid," Keith said. "What about Whitey? He liked Jake and I know he likes kids. He has a soft spot for them."

"That's not a bad idea," Nathan said. "Maybe we could ask him tonight."

They ended their conversations there and then pulled into the parking lot that was nearest to the tent. There was a brick path leading to the tent that the group followed. For the next fifteen minutes Karen and Keith greeted guests while the other four went around making sure that everything was perfect. Karen and Keith soon called them over so they could be announced to the guests. Keith's parents lined up in the front. They would be announced first. Nathan and Brooke stood behind them followed by Lucas and Haley, and last of all, Karen and Keith.

The D.J's voice came across the speaker.

"Lady's and gentleman pleas direct your attention to the entrance and join me in introducing the bridal party. May Scott and her husband Royal Scott, parents of the groom." There was polite cheering as the two walked over to their table and sat down. "Now, onto the bridal party. Bridesmaid Brooke Davis, friend of the bride and groom, escorted by groomsman Nathan Scott, nephew of the groom." There was cheering as Nathan and Brooke walked in dancing. "Now, matron of honor Haley James Scott, friend of the bride and groom, escorted by best man Lucas Scott, son of the bride and nephew of the groom." Once again there was cheering as Lucas and Haley walked in waving and smiling.

"Now please rise as we welcome the bride and groom." He paused as the guests rose to their feet. "Now, put your hands together in welcoming, for the second time, Mr. and Mrs. Keith and Karen Scott!" As they walked in doing the hand jive, there was a collective roar of laughter and cheering. As they reached the head table, Keith just stared at the couple. Once they sat down he whispered into Keith's ear, "The hand jive?"

"We had to come in style," Keith said.

"Then you should've done the soldier boy dance, not the hand jive," Lucas said jokingly.

"That's not a bad idea. Maybe when you get married you should do that," Keith said taking a sip of his water. Lucas laughed and turned Brooke on his other side.

"How do you think Peyton will react when she finds out that Jake is her partner in the wedding?" Peyton asked.

"I don't know," Lucas said. "She'll probably be happy. They got on good and she hasn't seen him in a while."

"Don't you ever worry that she'll hurt you like she hurt me?" Brook asked.

Lucas paused for a minute pondering the question. "To be honest, yeah I do. Almost every day actually."

"I don't want to hurt you Luke but, I have to tell you to guard your heart with her. I know you guys are great right now, but sometimes, history comes back to bite you in the ass," Brooke said.

"Thanks for the advice Brooke," Lucas said. "I never told you how sorry I was did I?" Brooke could tell it wasn't really a question. "I know me and Peyton hurt you, especially when you had to relive it a second time. For that, I'm truly sorry."

"It wasn't so much you two being together that bugged me to be honest," Brooke said. "It was the fact that you did it behind my back. If you had told me about your feelings for each other, I don't think I would have been as mad."

"Yes you would've," Lucas said. "Don't you remember when Peyton told you she had feelings for me? You bitch-slapped her and you've never been the same since. Honestly, I think that it was better off that you found out on your own. You didn't seem as dangerous then."

"I actually think you're right," Brooke said. "Anyways, protect yourself."

"Thanks for looking out for me Brooke," Lucas said. "You mean a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to me too," Brooke said. Lucas leaned over and hugged her.

"I miss hanging out with you Brooke," Lucas said. "It was fun when we did stuff together. You always made sure of that."

"Thanks Luke," Brooke said. "You were pretty fun too. You talked to me. We connected those first few times we went out."

"We did didn't we?" Lucas said. Just then the meal was served and the conversation was ended. Lucas looked over at Haley sitting next to his mom. Nathan was next to her, but he wasn't eating. He was watching Haley eating and laughing. After a few minutes she noticed.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked.

"Nothing," Nathan said.

"Why aren't you eating?" Haley asked.

"I'm too busy looking at you," Nathan said. "Did I tell you that you look beautiful?'

"Thank you," Haley said leaning over and kissing him. "If you're good maybe I'll let you help me take my dress off tonight."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Nathan said digging into his dinner. The dinner was taken away in a few minutes. Nathan had managed to finish before they took the plates. The D.J's voice came across the speakers again.

"Ladies and gentleman if you would direct your attention to the dance floor, the bride and groom are about to share their first dance." Keith and Karen stood up and walked to the center of the dance floor. Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley came on and they danced away. After that Keith danced with his mom and Lucas stood in and danced with his mom for the traditional father/daughter and mother/son dance. They danced to I'll Stand By You by The Pretenders. After that there was a dance with the rest of the bridal party. Lucas danced with Haley while Nathan danced with Brooke. The rest of the night was full of dance, laughter, and fun. It was a night that would be remembered by all.

The last dance of the night was Come Away with Me by Norah Jones. After that, the crowd dispersed. Keith and Karen left in their limo to their house. Everyone else went to their respective homes. The last to leave was Nathan, Lucas, Peyton, and Haley. Earlier in the night, Lucas had told Peyton about Jake being her wedding partner. She had said that it would be nice to see him but Lucas could tell that she was excited to see him. She was much happier for the rest of the night. Lucas was happy that Jake was coming, but he couldn't help but think that Peyton would want to get back together with Jake.

Lucas wasn't the only one that was afraid of being hurt. Peyton had seen him talking with Brooke, then dancing and hugging. She was welcoming Jake coming. Maybe it would spark the flare that she had always felt when Lucas was around. She had noticed that, in the past week or so, they had been drifting apart. She wasn't crazy about him anymore. She liked him but, for some reason, she felt that she liked him more when they were friends. She was waiting for the day that she would wake up and feel nothing for Lucas. She felt that she was almost at that point. Lucas had been thinking that same thing that night. He felt happier when he was with Brooke yet, the happiness somehow stopped when he was with Peyton. It should have been the other way around but it wasn't. There was definitely some hostility between the couple.

Haley and Nathan on the other hand, had been very happy the entire night. They had danced, talked, and laughed like they hadn't in a long time.

**So this was the chapter about Keith and Karen's wedding. I always liked Karen and Keith and I hated that fact that they never got to get married. I also never really liked Lucas and Peyton. I loved Jake and Peyton and am undecided whether I will have Lucas and Peyton go back to past relationships or mend the one that they're in. Let me know your opinions as this story is for you and I want too please you.**


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